Vomit Comet Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Was it all that bad? The first couple of years after my conversion were wonderful. It was all downhill from there. Towards the end it sucked ass, it was wrecking my life and preventing me from being human. Did you ever have moments of closeness with God and his presence? Well, sure. Did you ever have such close communion with Him that you cried in His presence with joy, or through healing of any pain in your heart? Once or twice I guess. Did God ever tell you something that would happen in your life and did it ever come to pass? Uh, he told me to go and do shit, or not to do certain shit. Never really about shit that was supposed to happen, aside from vagaries about revival happening in the indeterminate future and shit like that. Did you ever hear Gods voice in your inner man? Yeah, you could say that. Did words from the Bible become real and alive for you, and for you specifically? Not sure what you mean there. Did you ever have strange promptings to do something or say something, then find out it was confirmation for another person, or telling them something they needed to hear just that day? Um, sort of. Have you ever had such pain over a situation and think that it was completely hopeless, and God speak to you in it and find hope, and slowly see restoration? Have you ever seen someone's life completely turn the opposite direction after meeting God? Not quite so much, no. Do you ever miss God and his presence? Fuck no! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMJ Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hello again So I have read lots of stories and experiences on this site about your lives when you used to be christians. I would like to ask some questions though, if anyone would be willing to answer. Was it all that bad? Did you ever have moments of closeness with God and his presence? Did you ever have such close communion with Him that you cried in His presence with joy, or through healing of any pain in your heart? Did God ever tell you something that would happen in your life and did it ever come to pass? Did you ever hear Gods voice in your inner man? Did words from the Bible become real and alive for you, and for you specifically? Did you ever have strange promptings to do something or say something, then find out it was confirmation for another person, or telling them something they needed to hear just that day? Have you ever had such pain over a situation and think that it was completely hopeless, and God speak to you in it and find hope, and slowly see restoration? Have you ever seen someone's life completely turn the opposite direction after meeting God? Sorry thats a lot of questions. Im just curious to know if when you were a christian, was it all that bad? Was there any time in your lives where you did feel God close to you? How did you go from that to declaring that no Gods exist? Do you ever miss God and his presence? I haven't read any other comments but I thought that I would respond first. Yes, as a Christian, I thought I felt god's presence. Sometimes when I was praying, I cried for joy because I thought I experienced god in a personal manner. Now I realize that was false, a trick of my mind. Maybe some people are able to get high off their own endorphines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMJ Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 For the question, do you miss god? No. Today, I was driving my son home from school. On the way, the rain had been so hard that I could barely see to drive. Coming home, the rain had slowed down to a drizzle. Darker clouds were moving across a lighter gray sky. Suddenly I was aware of how all the colors seemed to pop against the gray. The green of the conifers was more intense, the way the bare branches of the other trees interlocked made interesting patterns and there was beauty in a day that should have appeared dreary to me. At that moment, I felt intense joy, the same that I felt when I experienced god. We don't need religion to get high off life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Maybe some people are able to get high off their own endorphines? This is entirely possible, but I'm not sure how prayer alone would cause that. Suddenly I was aware of how all the colors seemed to pop against the gray. The green of the conifers was more intense, the way the bare branches of the other trees interlocked made interesting patterns and there was beauty in a day that should have appeared dreary to me. I love experiences like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMJ Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Maybe some people are able to get high off their own endorphines? This is entirely possible, but I'm not sure how prayer alone would cause that. Suddenly I was aware of how all the colors seemed to pop against the gray. The green of the conifers was more intense, the way the bare branches of the other trees interlocked made interesting patterns and there was beauty in a day that should have appeared dreary to me. I love experiences like that. The phenomena of getting high off of religious experiences should be studied. I don't think anything different happens to Christians then happens to runners or tribal people during their ceremonies. It is something that we humans do to ourselves. And really, that is wonderful. Think how that would help peple who are depressed if they could be taught how to bring about a feeling of peace and joy naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 The phenomena of getting high off of religious experiences should be studied. It has been. In a lot of ways. I don't think anything different happens to Christians then happens to runners or tribal people during their ceremonies. From my own experience regarding these things, I agree with you, except on one thing: the high from exercise alone is IMO a little different than the high from religious activity. It is something that we humans do to ourselves. And really, that is wonderful. Think how that would help peple who are depressed if they could be taught how to bring about a feeling of peace and joy naturally. Indeed. That's something I'm struggling with at this point. And yes, both exercise and religious activity does help when I can get myself to do them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerScott Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Did you ever have moments of closeness with God and his presence? Not at all. From what it sounded like, I was supposed to be much closer to god after receiving Confirmation in the catholic church. In fact, that might have been very start of my deconversion. Did you ever have such close communion with Him that you cried in His presence with joy, or through healing of any pain in your heart? Nope Did God ever tell you something that would happen in your life and did it ever come to pass? God never gave me any signs...I prayed for him to help my depression. But I got nothing... Did you ever hear Gods voice in your inner man? Did words from the Bible become real and alive for you, and for you specifically? Sometimes I felt that god was living through me. I mean, I'm a pretty talented person at almost anything I pick up anything I try. I thought that was gods grace, nah that's just how I am. Did you ever have strange promptings to do something or say something, then find out it was confirmation for another person, or telling them something they needed to hear just that day? Sort of I guess, but I think that was just whimsical thinking on my part...Not god interacting with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dB-Paradox Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hello again So I have read lots of stories and experiences on this site about your lives when you used to be christians. I would like to ask some questions though, if anyone would be willing to answer. Was it all that bad? Not bad at all. In fact, I was a very happy Christian, and I loved my life as it was then. It was really good. Did you ever have moments of closeness with God and his presence? Not just moments, but most of my Christian life was close with God. Did you ever have such close communion with Him that you cried in His presence with joy, or through healing of any pain in your heart? I remember one Easter, crying after watching a Jesus movie, and talking out loud to him as a best friend. I considered myself extremely close to God in my Christian walk. Did God ever tell you something that would happen in your life and did it ever come to pass? Yes! I was working at a job I hated, and so I was actively looking for other employment. One day, at this job I hated, I was praying out loud asking God for a better job. The answer seemed to come to me almost immediately. The next day, I got a call from a prospective employer and got the job! Did you ever hear Gods voice in your inner man? Did words from the Bible become real and alive for you, and for you specifically? No. Never had this. Did you ever have strange promptings to do something or say something, then find out it was confirmation for another person, or telling them something they needed to hear just that day? I used to feel the urge to tell someone something kind, and they usually told me it just made their day. Have you ever had such pain over a situation and think that it was completely hopeless, and God speak to you in it and find hope, and slowly see restoration? Have you ever seen someone's life completely turn the opposite direction after meeting God? Yes and no. I found hope in hopeless situations, but never knew anyone who made a radical transformation. Now, let me retrace my answers and clarify. They say hindsight is 20/20, so looking back, I can see that in all these situations, there was no god. It was all me! I had a close relationship with myself, I had communion with myself, I answered the prayers I had control over, and even the ones I didn't have control over, I claimed that God must have known best, and finally, I have always been a person who likes to encourage people....no god necessary. Oh, and I can also find hope in hopeless situations all on my own! Do you ever miss God and his presence? Not any more. Even in times of what feels like dire hopelessness, I still find myself calling out to God, but ultimately find refuge in knowing that I have the power to alter my own fate. Plus the utter silence after calling out is affirmation that no one listens but me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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